Japan cases boost Gillibrand's effort

By David McCumber, Hearst Newspapers

Published 9:21 pm, Monday, February 10, 2014

Photo: MANDEL NGAN

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Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY attends a press conference calling for the creation of an independent military justice system to deal with sexual harassment and assault in the military, in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on February 6, 2014. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGANMANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images less

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY attends a press conference calling for the creation of an independent military justice system to deal with sexual harassment and assault in the military, in the Russell Senate ... more

Photo: MANDEL NGAN

Japan cases boost Gillibrand's effort

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Washington

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's relentless fight to take decision-making in sexual abuse cases out of the military chain of command picked up new momentum Monday after an Associated Press investigation revealed haphazard, lenient punishment in such cases at military bases in Japan.

The New York Democrat also won public backing for her bill from yet another senator — the 54th to announce support.

After studying more than 1,000 documents covering at least 600 cases, the AP reported that most service members at bases in Japan who were found culpable in sex crimes did not go to prison but were instead fined, demoted, restricted to their bases or removed from the military. About 30 received only a letter of reprimand.

Gillibrand followed up Monday on what she termed "the shocking report" with a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel requesting detailed information about all sexual assault investigations at the largest bases of each branch of the service. Those include Fort Hood in Texas as well as Naval Air Station Norfolk, Marine Camp Pendleton in California, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

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"I am concerned about the amount of time it took for the AP to receive this information (four years) and expect a more timely response," she wrote Hagel.

The AP investigation found two cases in which commanders overruled recommendations to court-martial defendants, and dismissed charges instead. Overall, AP reported, its research showed "a pattern of random and inconsistent judgments."

"This investigation shows disturbing evidence that there are some military commanders who do in fact refuse to prosecute sexual assault cases," Gillibrand said Monday.

The report "shows the direct evidence of the stories we hear every day. The men and women of our military deserve better. They deserve to have unbiased, trained military prosecutors reviewing their cases, and making decisions based solely on the merits of the evidence in a transparent way," Gillibrand said.

"How many more rapes do we have to endure to wait and see what reforms are needed?" countered Gillibrand.

Gillibrand's bill is expected to reach the floor as early as this week. Its chances were enhanced with Monday's announcement of support by the newest Senator, Democrat John Walsh of Montana, named to replace Sen. Max Baucus, who was confirmed last week as Ambassador to China.

Walsh makes 54 of the 100 senators who have publicly announced support. Gillibrand says she knows she has the support of others, and vows that if the bill is filibustered, which is likely, she will round up the 60 votes necessary to advance it anyway.

"Survivors of military sexual assault have been bravely walking the halls of Congress for over a year now — selflessly reliving some of the worst moments of their lives so someone else doesn't have to suffer the trauma they did," Gillibrand said. "Their day on the Senate floor is coming soon — and if we have to break a filibuster to give them justice that is exactly what we will do. We will not stop fighting until the gavel comes down. We owe them a justice system that is worthy of their sacrifice."

The Pentagon estimates that there were 26,000 cases of sexual assault in the military in 2012, although only 3,374 were reported.